When it comes to beauty routines there are so many brushes involved. The right make-up brush to contour your cheeks. The proper hairbrush to style and tame your mane. Often forgotten is how important the perfect toothbrush is. It may not be as glamorous as some of the other brushes in our lives, but proper dental hygiene is an essential part of any beauty and wellness routine. After all a brilliant smile is the most important part of your face! All the more reason to Smile Brilliant! (haha, see what I did there...) Growing up with a very unpleasant childhood dentist, I became obsessed with dental health. To the point of being downright over enthusiastic when it comes to the latest and greatest dental products and gadgets. Charcoal toothpaste? Coconut floss? Count me in! I’ve used an electric toothbrush for as long as I can remember, but it has always been a love/hate relationship of sorts.
I’m excited to say that the Smile Brilliant cariPRO is everything I’ve been searching for in an electric toothbrush! When Smile Brilliant reached out and offered to send me the cariPRO in exchange for a very honest review I was beyond ecstatic to try out a new dental gadget, but also a bit skeptical. When it comes to electric toothbrushes I’m a tough critic. As fabulous as the fan fave Quip is, in my experience it just can’t compete with its more complex counterparts in terms of cleanliness and plaque removal. I still love it for travel and on-the-go, but for day to day use I prefer something that gives a deeper clean and more options.
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The first thing I noticed when opening the box is how well designed the cariPRO is. I know you can’t judge a toothbrush by its cover, but this is a very stylish and sophisticated edition to the bathroom. I’m a big fan of the modern gray and sleek silver. The handle is soft, ergonomic and comfortable- unlike my former Oral-B which was slippery, unwieldily, and looked like a kitchen utensil. The cariPRO is also waterproof! In case you love brushing in the shower as much as I do. I was delighted to discover it can last about 30 days on one charge! My former toothbrush only lasted 10 days if I was lucky. b r u s h h e a d s Next up I investigated the brush heads. Crucial when choosing a toothbrush because you want clean teeth, but not painful gums. The cariPRO passes with flying colors! The bristles are perfectly staggered to really reach all of those difficult nooks and crannies. Some of my previous electric toothbrushes didn’t hold up to the floss test. Nothing like being surprised by what your toothbrush missed, yikes! Luckily the cariPRO leaves no trace of everything bagel behind. It passed the floss test!!! Instead of a spinning head, it vibrates faster than the competition, removing 7x more plaque and bagel. The bristles and vibrations were soft enough to not irritate my gums, but still very effective in getting that sparkling clean. s e t t i n g s Offering 5 different settings, cleverly disguised within 2 buttons, I found it very user-friendly. The cariPRO also offers some cool options I haven’t seen before. The settings are: clean, whitening, massage, gum care, and sensitive. Leaps and bounds beyond my old electric toothbrush that only had an on/off button. Like the Quip, it also has a timer set for 2 minutes and it alerts you when to switch quadrants. c l e a n Lastly, the most important test- how smooth do my teeth feel post brushing, and how long does that feeling last? Again, cariPRO for the win! My teeth have honestly never felt cleaner. They were perfectly smooth, and my mouth felt so remarkably fresh. After a couple weeks of use, I noticed a whiter brighter smile in addition to the sparkling clean feeling. At this point I'm ready to build the cariPRO a statue in its honor! Cleaner, whiter teeth feels amazing! I'm also pleasantly surprised by how affordable it is considering how much it offers. Now I can’t wait to see my dentist because I have a feeling she will be very happy! Happy teeth = happy dentist = happy you!
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Yay, Smile Brilliant is awesome and they are doing a giveaway of one of their amazing toothbrushes- click here to enter! Also they are giving you 20% off your purchase of the cariPRO. Use the code: caseofcuriosities20 at check out! Treat your teeth to something nice! electric toothbrush
{plaid cropped jacket and pants} Sara Battaglia {rock tee} Bleached Goods {handbag} Chloe Elle clutch {white booties} Lousie et Cie {photographed by} Jessamyn Land Beauty Con POP was a fun experience in celebrating self-love and acceptance. Like most "Instagram experiences" the Beauty Con LA pop-up featured a series of imaginary rooms- like this one with a giant eye shadow palette. However, the best part was the running theme of inclusivity paired with beauty and body positivity. Each room challenged you to self-reflection (literally in a mirrored room), while celebrating the fact that beauty comes in all colors, shapes, and sizes. You are perfect just as you are.
{scarf} Wilfred by Aritzia {dress} Stone Cold Fox {bag} Auxilliary by Aritzia {sunnies} Karen Walker Number One {blouse} Frame Denim {check skirt} Rhié {yellow linen trousers} Creatures of Comfort A few snippets from my favorite place on earth- Positano. A magical seaside haven on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, now overrun by tourists thanks to Instagram. There is still some austere, timeless quality about this vertical town perched on the most brilliant blue sea. Something untouched, and unspoiled by time and modern invention. It may be a hard trek for the 'ol glutes and calves, but strolling the inclines, getting lost amidst the endless back alleys and winding stairs you begin to see life from a new perspective. It's a bit slower, more cinematic, filled with heaping bowls of linguine ai frutti de mare (fruits of the sea, is there a more perfect title?) and local shop owners pouring you shot glasses of "Limoncello!" sweet lemon liquor that is a specialty of the region. Note that some of the lemons here are the size of your head. Welcome to the sweet life, la dolce vita! More on my adventures in Positano to come...
Mixing prints is apparently one of my trademarks according to one of my friends. I do love the challenge of combining a pastiche of patterns without looking like I got dressed in the dark. The trick to mastering print mixing is to keep the patterns similar, and in coordinating colorways or neutrals. For example, a variety of prints in various shades of the same color will looked pulled together because of the matching color tones. Likewise, pulling main colors from each print to tie the look together is more bold, but also effective. Keeping the patterns somewhat similar- geometric prints with geometric prints, florals with florals, help keep the clash to a minimum. Though sometimes for the sake of having fun with it I like to disregard those tips and just play it by ear...or rather by sight. Try it on and if you feel amazing, you've got a winning look!
{dress} Dodo Bar Or {green bomber jacket} Dion Lee {holographic cross-body logo bag} Kenzo {black platform booties} Schutz {tortoise sunnies} Old Céline {photographed by} Jovana Obradovic New Yorkers know that if there is a sunny day break in the dregs of winter you take it and dress as extra as possible! Break out the shorts! Maybe I don't go that far, but it's a nice opportunity to put on a fun dress, or dress down something sparkly with an army green bomber jacket, and leave the parka behind. I'm a spoiled Cali girl in a way. I've come to expect sunshine everyday, so it's always nice to spend time on the eastern seaboard where you quickly learn to appreciate nice weather as it isn't everyday. Isn't that a good analogy for life in a way? We go through the hard bits to learn to appreciate the good bits.
Trench coats have long been one of my favorite things. Perhaps because they will always have a sort of mysterious glamorous retro spy vibe, kind of like The Pink Panther. Especially with a popped collar and sunglasses, it quickly becomes this transformative piece that makes you feel stylishly incognito, as though adventure is waiting around every twist and turn- even if those twists and turns are only in the cereal aisle of a grocery store. This Tibi trench from their FW 18 collection is a major addition to my collection. The removable quilted collar flap, cool belt, and printed neon graffiti-style details make it unique but still classic. I am so into the edginess of the print and how it plays on the neon trend. It brings a bit of streetwear-style edge to any ordinary outfit which is basically a major tenant of my personal style. Ps. I look grumpy in all of these photos. I was actually just being blinded by the sun, and I think a little hangry.
